Friday, May 9, 2014

Parashat Behar - Shabbat

This week’s Torah
portion, Parashat Behar, tells us that not only should every person observe
Shabbat, but everything, even the dirt, gets a Shabbat, a sabbatical, a
reprieve. It happens to be a healthy environmental practice to let the land lie
fallow one year in seven, giving the soil time to recharge, letting trees and
plants already standing continue to bloom on their own, letting the fruits fall
naturally, decompose back into the soil. But that really isn’t the point for
the Torah. The point is that everything needs a Shabbat. The Torah portion also teaches about ethical
treatments of workers and fair wealth distribution practices. In the jubilee
year, the seventh cycle of the seven-year cycles of halting work on the land
(that is, every 49 years), lands are redeemed by previous owners forced to sell
them in times of financial trouble, debts are forgiven, and people are
equalized. Everything is turned back as it should be, the refresh button is
hit, G-d blows a wind of relief for everyone to breathe in.

The laws
themselves only apply in the land of Israel, and there is, of course, more than
one way to interpret what the laws mean. One very simple reading is the
importance of Shabbat, of rest, of taking some time separate from the rest of
your week, or year, to stop and rest. For us, as Reform Jews, maybe that means
being here on Saturday mornings, then going home for a Shabbat nap or a walk in
the park or family time. For some, it means a complete unplugging. For some, it
means no cars or money handling, no talking about business. For some, it
doesn’t even mean Saturday. Shabbat can be any number of things, as long as it
means something different than your everyday routine. Havdallah, the service at
the end of Shabbat, means separation, so we know that Shabbat and the rest of
our week should be separate, different. Shabbat, whenever and however you mark
it, should be holy and restful, a time to recharge yourself, a time to reflect
on your week behind you and the week ahead without stress about what you did
wrong or what you need to do next. The sabbatical year for the farmers of our
Torah was the same thing. Although they also probably did not farm on Shabbat,
one day of rest in a week does not really mean anything for the slow,
cumulative work of commercial farming. So every seventh year, they stop for the
whole year. The farmers need a long Shabbat; the soil needs to regain its
nutrients. Every 49th year, lands are redeemed; the poor and the
indebted get a chance to regain what they need. Everything needs a Shabbat.

Tonight when the
sun goes down, the twenty sixth day of the omer begins. The Sefirah for the 26th
day is “Hod shebeNetzach,” “Humility in Ambition”. As I said last week,
ambition is important. Without it, we would have no drive to make ourselves or
our world better, we would have no interest in providing and caring for
ourselves, and we would waste away physically, mentally, and emotionally.
However, in our ambition, we sometimes lose sight of why we are working toward
whatever end goal we have in mind, and we sometimes fail to recognize our
limits. Humility in Ambition is recognizing that everyone has limits, everyone
needs a break sometimes, and often we need help from others. Humility in
Ambition is remembering that it will be better for your long term goals if you
take the regularly scheduled time to stop and rest, reflect and look around.
Take a deep breath, rest your body and your fields, reach out to someone in
need, or accept help yourself if you need. Take a Shabbat. It will make your
work that much more productive when you return rested.

May you all have a
restful Shabbat today, however you observe, and may you return to your work
week refreshed and full of humble ambition! Amen and Shabbat Shalom.